The Pan

It's been a while since I blogged about The Pan. We used to go all the way to Gardena, but we no longer have to drive there since they opened one in Lomita. Last month, Piero was in town, so Sandi and I thought it was an excellent place to go for breakfast. 

Piero, whose appetite is slightly more significant than mine, ordered the Short Rib Benedict; 2 corn cakes with braised short ribs over Mexican street creamed corn, poached eggs topped with Poblano cream sauce. It looked as good as it tasted. He was pleased with his meal.

Sandi opted for the Mediterranean Omelet. IT had tomatoes, spinach, pepperoncini, Kalamata olives, artichokes, and feta cheese tucked into a fluffy 3 egg omelet. This was served with house potatoes. Of course, this was way too much for her little tummy to handle, though she also loved it. 

I was planning to be good and just order the "Best Ever" Banana Pancakes since they are indeed the best. It was a nice thought but I knew the pancake was just going to be dessert, so I ended up ordering the Original Loaded Hash Browns; they were loaded with green onions, cheddar cheese, bacon, eggs, chili aioli and I had it with additional slices of avocado. Boy, was it ever filling and delicious. I did share my pancakes with Piero and Sandi.

The Pan is located at 2104 Pacific Coast Hwy. in Lomita, California. They open at 9 a.m. which is too late for me. I wish they opened earlier!

Sweet Rice

This is another restaurant Sandi wanted to visit while on her mini vacation in Los Angeles. She and I have been craving their Sticky Rice with Mango. Both Sujata and Amy had never been there, so they were game to try this Thai restaurant. 

My favorite dish is Kao Soi; choice of chicken or beef, yellow curry, ba mee noodles, bean sprouts, mustard greens, red onions, cilantro, and crispy noodles with a lime wedge. The presentation was impressive, but I had to instruct the newbies to first squeeze the lime and mix everything to get the fantastic flavor of the fillings with the soup in every bite. Amy had hers with beef, and the three of us had the chicken, which I prefer. I had forgotten how heavenly this dish tasted!!! I can't imagine anything better than this. It indeed was excellent. Both Amy and Sujata shared my opinion. 

Dessert had to be the Sticky Rice and Mango. I have had this dish multiple times here and at different Thai restaurants, and this is the best place to get them. Unfortunately, Amy was not fond of it. Before we had it, she kept saying she could not imagine eating rice with mango. You have to have an open mind. This is a great dessert; the sticky rice is served with a coconut milk sauce, making it a bit sweet and very creamy, which goes well with the sweet mango.

Angela, the owner, was at her other restaurant across Sweet Rice, called Bowl Thai Grill which I will have to try sometime soon. Sweet Rice is located at 1630 W Redondo Beach #4, in Redondo Beach, California. They are open every day from 11 to 9 p.m. except Mondays.

La Bocca Felice

Since she moved away, Sandi hasn't been back to La Bocca Felice, so it was just appropriate to continue celebrating her birthday. Nima, the owner, came to our table to say hello, and he was looking very dapper that evening. 

We always enjoy the free corkage, so I brought a bottle of Gruet, a very nice and crisp sparkling wine my cousin Cookie gave me for my birthday. We started with their delicious calamari, which we devoured. I ordered the Pappardelle Short Rib Ragu. You really cannot go wrong with this dish. It's hearty, and you get lots of chunky meat packed with incredible flavor. Together with the pappardelle, this is sure to fill an empty stomach. In fact, I could not finish it, so I had to take it home to enjoy the following day. Sandi ordered the Fettucine Capesante with scallops. That was delicious as well and had a slight lemon flavor. 

Zohreh and Amy had the Swordfish Milanese. I had a bite of it, and it was indeed flaky and fresh. We were all too full to order dessert. 

While dining, we enjoyed the music of a trio that made us ladies want to dance to some classic jazz music. It was a romantic; if only Richard Gere had been there. Oh well, I can only dream. 

We were surprised when Francisco, our server whom we had several times in the past, brought Sandi a surprise Cannoli dessert to share. It was a nice touch. 

La Bocca Felice is located at 301 West 6th St in San Pedro, California. 

Bettolino Kitchen

Amy and I took Sandi to one of her favorite places for her birthday yesterday. The nice thing about eating an early dinner (3:00 p.m.) is that the drinks are $3.00 off, and the appetizers are half-price. 

We looked forward to their freshly baked bread that is so addicting with olive oil, herbs, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese upon request. We tried the Brussels Sprouts, which we had never had before, and we were pleasantly surprised at how good it was. They were crispy and delicious with the bite-size pancetta and rosemary croutons. 

The birthday girl ordered her favorite Tagliatelle Bolognese, and Amy had one of my favorites, Tortelloni al Limone. I ordered the Squid Ink Tagliolini with lots of cherry tomatoes which had the right balance with the pesto sauce, and I loved it! One thing disturbing about going to this restaurant is that I always have a problem deciding what to order because I have several favorites!

The birthday girl got a surprise dessert which she happily shared with us. It was a very tasty cheescake.

If I may suggest, I think that the employees should be trained to pronounce the Italian dishes correctly since this is an Italian restaurant. It's just a pet peeve of mine; Bolognese is not pronounced Bolognes, Limone is not a French word and shouldn't be pronounced Limon, and of course, the most common, Bruschetta, is pronounced busketa, not Brushetta.

Betttolino Kitchen is always a great place to go for authentic Italian food. Even if it is not pronounced correctly, it's still delicious. Bettolino Kitchen is located at 211 Palos Verdes Blvd. in Redondo Beach, California.

Fig

Gary treated Sandi for dinner at Fig last night. I was there only once several years ago. The ambiance is quite impressive as the restaurant is located in the Fairmont Hotel in Santa Monica.  They had a happy hour where everything was 50% off, which meant we could eat more! 

It was decided that we would order family style and share everything. For starters, we unanimously picked the Wagyu Beef Tartare. It came with a nice bowl of potato chips, and that was delicious,  and we all loved it. 

We also tried the Crispy Calamari and the Diver Scallops, and both were delectable. We, of course, had to have some carbohydrates, so it was decided to order the Cacio e Pepe made with ricotta cavatelli pasta, and it was aldente and delightful. 

The Steak Frites with rosemary fries was a big disappointment. It was tough! At first, I thought the steak knife was not sharp enough, but when I started chewing, it confirmed my opinion. Both Sandi and Gary struggled in cutting the steak. All three of us were starving before dinner, and it was most unusual for us not to finish the steak. Though we ordered it medium, it was more medium rare, so there is no excuse for it being tough. When our server came, I mentioned that the steak was tough, and his response was it was "Dry Aged Prime Beef." This means it should have been silky and tender. Did he not know what he was trying to convey? I took a picture of the leftover piece, which we could have easily eaten, especially between Gary and me, since we have big appetites! We did enjoy our bottle of Italian wine.

We ordered two desserts which were just okay, but we did finish them since we were really not that full. Another server named Juan, who cleared our plates, was most sympathetic when I relaid our experience, but there was not much he could do. Our server did not charge us for our desserts which was the least he could do. Gary commented that maybe they don't care much about pleasing customers since we already got 50% off. That may be so, but the moral of the story is that I know I won't be returning to Fig. Any restaurant that is uninterested in pleasing customers or offering to make things right is not worth a return visit. I am thankful the steak was half the price, the regular price was $75! 

 

I thank Juan for understanding, and he should have been our server.  Fig is located at 101 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica, California.

Tin Roof Bistro

Sujata treated us to dinner last Tuesday and we also celebrated Sandi's birthday. We haven't been back to the Tin Roof in a few years. 

For the occasion, I brought a bottle of Italian sparkling wine for all 3 of us to enjoy. We had to order their delicious Brussels Sprouts for our appetizer, which we all loved.  Both Sujata and Sandi ordered the Fish & Chips with French fries and cole slaw. It was the tastiest coleslaw ever! The fries were so crispy and light, and though I didn't order any, I ended up eating most of Sandi's fries. The fish was also nice and light.

I had the Lamb Bolognese. When I placed my order, I asked our server, David who reminded us of Brandon Fraser, to bring some Parmesan cheese with my pasta. Sandi made the comment that I do like the cheese. Before my pasta arrived, he brought 2 little bowls of freshly shaved Parmesan. My pasta was very good, though I think it would be better if the pasta was a narrower papardelle. The very wide papardelle was too heavy and I was unable to finish my dish which was most unusual. 

David, was so efficient that he kept clearing the table before I was done, He saw the Brussels sprouts plate almost empty and as he tried to clear it, I told him we or rather I was not done. He apologized. Later when we were all done eating, he cleard our plates but little did he know that I was trying to finish Sandi's fries. This time I instinctively hit his arm (bad boy), luckily he has not sued me for battery. He was most entertaining and such a good sport. We are sure to ask for him the next time we return to Tin Roof.

We were not planning on ordering dessert but David brought Sandi an Apple and Rhubarb Crisp served with Vanilla Ice Cream. Sandi was kind enough to share and we all got to try this dessert which also had cranberries.

Tin Roof is still a good place to go especially for early dinner before the cruwds. They are located at 3500 N Sepulveda Blvd. in Manhattan Beach, CA. They are open everyday from 4 PM to 10 PM and on the weekends, they open from 10 AM.

A-1 Chinese B.B.Q.

I have blogged about this restaurant numerous times over the past 35 years. They changed ownership a while ago and thought the food was very good then; it is still most delicious now. They haven't expanded, nor have they made significant renovations. It is a no-nonsense restaurant without frills. But if you like mouth-watering Chinese food, this is the place to go.

Sandi treated me to a late lunch and early dinner meal. They serve lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and dinner from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Though their lunch specials went up in price, it is still a bargain for what you get. For $11:50 or $12.50, you can pick an entrée, including a cup of their delicious Sweet and Sour Soup and Rice. 

The soup was delicious. We ordered the special Pan-Fried Crispy Noodle with Chicken. It is impossible for me not to order this dish as it has very crispy noodles, but it gets soft and unbelievably tasty when mixed well with the sauce. 

The second entrée we ordered was the Beef with Black Bean Sauce; and I have never had that, and we both loved it. 

Another specialty is the Peking Duck with Steam Buns. I used to order that when we had a party of four, and I will have to order it next time.

A-1 is a hole in the wall spot, and once you discover this hole, you are sure to keep going back. They are located at 2014 Pacific Coast Hwy. in Lomita, California.

Back to Tatel

I had the pleasure of being treated at this restaurant 9 days ago. Sandi and I loved it so much that we were able to talk 2 more friends into accompanying us to have their fabulous prix-fixe lunch. I requested to be seated at Yago's table, our previous simpatico server. We arrived a bit early, and Yago was there to welcome us. 

We enjoyed their white wine sangria the last time, so we ordered a pitcher of it again. For starters, Zohreh and I had the Classic Spanish Potato Salad. Ever since I had it, I could not get it out of my mind as it was most unusual with tuna (I usually don't like tuna). I was happy that Zohreh enjoyed it as much as I did. Sandi had the Bloomdale Spinach Salad, which had figs and was most tasty. Sugar opted for the Opengarden, mixed greens with lots of cherry tomatoes, hearts of palm, and onions. She, too, loved her salad and commented on how the portions were generous.

Zohreh and Sugar are fish lovers, so I strongly suggested they try the excellent Branzino. Our friend Milena raved about the Iberico Pork Loin, so Sandi and I decided to try it this time. If you haven't had Iberico, try this mouth-watering delicious pork! Iberico is made from Iberico black pigs whose diet is solely acorns. As I write this blog, I ponder when I can go back to Tatel.

Dessert was a no-brainer. It had to be their famous Cheesecake. Also, most unusual. Cheesecake is our least favorite dessert, but it quickly became our favorite after we've tasted theirs. Again, it is worth driving to Beverly Hills and experiencing Tatel!

Tatel is located at 453 N. Canon Dr. In Beverly Hills, California. I must mention that Tatel is one of 25 restaurants that made the list of "worth traveling to." The other 2 locations are in Madrid and Ibiza.